


Sign Me Up

by marmolita



Series: The Sheet (heat signup AU) [2]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: (this fic is part of a series but is standalone), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, First Time, Hero Worship, Knotting, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, ambiguous omega biology, bad hockey innuendos, heat sign-up sheets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:36:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22219288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marmolita/pseuds/marmolita
Summary: Landy is shaking his head next to him as he applies the scent blocker to his own upper lip.  "I thought you guys were friends -- you've never smelled his heat pheromones before?""What?  I was friends with who?"Landy smacks Nate upside the head. "Crosby," he says, like it should be the most obvious thing in the world.Nate looks back out at the ice, where Sid is taking a faceoff, a bead of sweat dripping down his face.  "Holy shit," he mutters.
Relationships: Jonathan Drouin/Nathan MacKinnon, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sidney Crosby/Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie/Nathan MacKinnon
Series: The Sheet (heat signup AU) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1592407
Comments: 27
Kudos: 330





	Sign Me Up

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is standalone and I think it sets up the universe pretty well without any additional commentary needed! I was kind of vague about the timeline but let's just say the main part of this happens sometime between 2015 and 2018.
> 
> Obligatory disclaimer: this is a work of fiction and is not at all intended to reflect reality. Please don't read it if you know anyone in it, and please don't share it with anyone who is in it!
> 
> WARNINGS: contains vague description of consensual non-heat sex between two teenagers (16/17ish), and a reference to a teenager jerking off, as teenagers do.

From the moment Nathan MacKinnon first hears about Sidney Crosby, all he wants is to be just like him. Train like Sid, go to the same schools as Sid, follow in his footsteps -- hell, every hockey kid in Cole Harbor wants to be the next Sidney Crosby, so it's not like Nate's the only one. Maybe he's just a little more intense about it, like he is about everything that's important to him.

He's 13 years old when Sid brings the Stanley Cup back to Cole Harbor. Standing at the side of the road to watch the parade, yelling so loud he'll go hoarse later, he can hardly believe he gets to see Sid in person, gets to breathe in the sweet smell of victory that clings to him as he rides past. Sid is grinning like crazy, one hand on the cup as he waves at the crowd, and Nate can't help but feel part of it all.

When he presents as an alpha a year later, for a while all he feels is crushing defeat. By then he's firmly on the path to the NHL, his application to Shattuck already processing, the dream of being just like Sid starting to look more like reality. But how can he be just like Sid if he's an alpha?

_ It's for the best, _ his parents tell him, and  _ it's easier for alphas _ . Alphas are stronger, alphas are faster, alphas hit harder. All of this, but Nate knows that it isn't true; nobody could possibly be better than Sidney Crosby.

*

Nate grows. He grows, and he learns, and he develops. It's not so bad being an alpha, after all; his hero worship for Sid doesn't go away, but it becomes a little bit more than that alone. He has his first kiss with a pretty omega girl at Shattuck, who breaks up with him over text message three weeks later. The next year, he loses his virginity to Jonathan Drouin in the back of his car, kissing and touching eagerly despite the cramped quarters.

Jo goes into heat during the season that year, but juniors doesn't follow the same rules as the NHL. They scratch him for the game and send him home, and when Nate tries to check on him Jo's billet family doesn't let him past the front door. It's not like he can tell them  _ don't worry about it, we've had sex already _ , so he forces himself to let it go, no matter how tempting the scent filling their house is.

When he's 17, he gets the chance to train with Sid for the summer. It's a little like being hit by a freight train, to be face to face with his idol and find out that his idol is every bit as attractive in person as he's been in Nate's dreams for the past few years. Somehow, despite his starstruck fumbling, they become friends.

(Jo laughs so hard he cries when Nate tells him about it over the phone. "Nathan," he says, when he catches his breath, "you're the only alpha in the world who would get turned on by an omega cheating to beat you in a race."

"Shut up," Nate says. "He's not just an omega, he's  _ Sidney Crosby _ ." That just sets Jo off again.)

*

They use scent blocking cream in juniors too, even though the omegas get scratched at the first sign of pre-heat, so Nate's not surprised to find it behind the bench at his first game with the Avs. It doesn't get any use until partway through the season, when they're in the middle of a road trip and Tyson starts pre-heat during an afternoon practice. Nate is a polite Canadian alpha, but he's also 18, so without the blocker there's no way he'd be able to finish practice.

He stays on the ice until everyone else has gone in, trying to clear his head all the same. When he gets to the locker room Tyson's nowhere to be seen, but there's a group of guys laughing around a paper tacked to the wall. "What do you say, Mac?" EJ asks, clapping him on the shoulder. "Are you going to sign up for Tyson?"

Nate blinks at him for a few seconds, then goes bright red. He knows how the system works, of course. He's heard about it, read about it, signed the damn contract, but it's another thing to be confronted with the fact that there's a sign-up sheet to have sex with one of his teammates. "Uh," he stammers, "I, uh."

"Leave him alone," Landy says, throwing a tape ball at EJ. "If he wants to sign up he'll sign up. Besides, we all know Tyson's picking me anyway."

Nate doesn't sign up, too nervous to even consider it. The team medical officer comes into the locker room to collect the sheet, then returns a few minutes later and collects Landy and EJ, who leave the room to a chorus of hooting and hollering.

_ Is this what it's going to be like for you? _ Nate texts Jo that night, when he's back at the hotel trying to get to sleep so he'll be rested for tomorrow's game.  _ A sign-up sheet for whoever wants to fuck you? _

The Mooseheads aren't playing tonight, so it doesn't take long to get a reply.

_ [Jo] it will be, if I ever make it _

_ [Nate] you'll make it. _

_ [Nate] that doesn't bother you? having strangers go to bed with you? _

_ [Jo] they're not strangers _

_ [Jo] they're teammates, and other players _

_ [Jo] and I'd get to pick whoever I wanted _

Nate looks down at his phone, thinking about it. It's good for team bonding, according to the NHL, and they even encourage the opposing team to sign up because with how often trades happen, you never know when someone might end up on your team. It's one hundred percent consensual, because the omega can always refuse everyone who signs up. All of the omegas in the league agree to the system, and he's never heard of anyone complaining about it.

All of the omegas participate. Even Sidney Crosby.

Nate bites his lip and slides lower under his covers. Maybe next time he'll think about signing up.

*

Time passes. Nate does sign up for Tyson, the next time, and has his first experience of having sex with an omega in heat. It's fucking amazing.

A couple of years later, he gets the chance to sign up for Jo, when they're playing against Tampa Bay, and while they all give him shit for it, nobody is surprised when the Bolts' medical officer comes to collect him after the game. He and Jo haven't been together in a long time, but it turns out it's easy to pick back up where they left off. Nate knows Jo, knows his body, what he likes, what he doesn't. Being in juniors together Jo's billet family and the coaches all kept a lock down on his heats, so this is the first time he's gotten to see Jo sweaty and desperate, begging for Nate to fuck him even after they've already gone two rounds. He's beautiful.

"Thanks," Jo says after, when Nate is cleaning them both up with a warm wet cloth from the towel heater the Bolts' heat room has in the corner. He looks up at Nate and smiles at him. "You know," he says, "it would have been nice if we could have played together."

"Yeah," Nate agrees.

Jo brushes sweaty hair back from his face. "We could have ended up bonded."

Nate grins at him. "Hashtag soulmates, eh?"

Jo laughs. "Yeah, you and me . . . and your massive, neverending crush on Crosby."

Nate throws a pillow at him.

*

It takes years, but it finally happens. They're hosting the Pens, and Nate's on the bench in the second period when he's thrown by a hit of the sweetest omega heat pheromones he's ever smelled. "Oh shit," Landy says when he sees the look on Nate's face. "Nate, use the cream," he says, grabbing the tub of scent blocker and shoving it at him.

"Huh?" Nate asks dumbly, through the sudden hormone haze.

"The blocker, Nate," Landy says calmly. "Put it under your nose or I'll do it for you."

"Oh, right." Nate scoops some up and spreads it under his nose, and it only takes a second before he's got himself back under control.

Landy is shaking his head next to him as he applies the blocker to his own upper lip. "I thought you guys were friends -- you've never smelled his heat pheromones before?"

"What? I was friends with who?"

Landy smacks Nate upside the head. "Crosby," he says, like it should be the most obvious thing in the world.

Nate looks back out at the ice, where Sid is taking a faceoff, a bead of sweat dripping down his face. "Holy shit," he mutters.

*

"All right, boys," Landy says during the intermission, waving the clipboard with the signup sheet on it. "I know you all want to sign up even though Crosby's picky as fuck. But I think the honor has to go to our boy Nate, who's been dreaming of this moment since he discovered his dick."

Nate groans and drops his face into his hands as the guys all laugh and clap him on the back. Landy pushes the clipboard and pen into his hands. "He's not gonna pick me," he protests. "There's guys on his own team, for like, team bonding, and everything."

"This isn't exactly an opportunity you get every day, Dogg," Tyson says, elbowing him. "He keeps a lock down on his heat schedule. I've only seen him go into heat after a game maybe twice, and it's been years."

"Nate, buddy," EJ says, staring down at him. "Your crush is epic. Put your name on the list."

Nate bites his lip and looks down at the blank piece of paper. They're not wrong. He signs his name.

Everyone cheers and claps for him, shoving at him playfully. "He's not gonna pick me," Nate protests again as he hands the clipboard over and the other alphas start adding their names. Sid is his friend, his good friend, but in all the years they've known each other Sid has never shown the slightest bit of interest in him as anything more. Jo had been easy to read, all lingering glances and hugs that went on a little too long to be just hockey hugs, sharp peaks to his scent and the flick of his tongue over his lips. But Sid's never given him any of those signs, and Nate's learned to keep control of his own tells.

He's not going to get picked. But he can at least make the offer.

*

Nate is finishing getting dressed when the door to the locker room opens and a woman he doesn't recognize comes in. "Nathan MacKinnon?" she calls, looking around the room. Nate's head snaps up.

"Yeah, that's me," he says, frowning. The press has already left and she doesn't look like a reporter, but there are so many people milling around that it's hard to say for sure.

"Come with me, please," she says. He's still confused, until there's a rising chorus of  _ oohhhhhhh _ from the guys and a wolf whistle from somewhere behind him, and then his face immediately goes hot.

"Get it, Mac!" EJ yells as Nate gets to his feet so fast he forgets he hasn't tied his shoes.

"Oh, uh, just a sec," he says to the woman as he bends down to fix his laces. The guys are going to chirp him about this for  _ ages _ but Nate doesn't really care because his mind is racing with the idea that he's about to have sex with  _ Sidney Crosby _ .

There are a lot of back claps and ass swats as he follows the woman out of the room. She looks vaguely amused, so he asks, "Is it like this every time?"

"Sid usually scratches everyone from the opposing team," she says with a smile. "So no, it's not, but I couldn't tell you for sure."

"Oh," he says in a small voice, because that means Nate's special. It means Sid is breaking his routine for him, and that's-- that's kind of a big deal.

There's some paperwork he has to fill out, including reviewing a list of what he's not allowed to do. He can feel his cheeks getting redder as he reads the list, his blush probably extending to his ears and down his neck. He initials each page and signs at the bottom, and the woman takes the papers and opens up the door to the heat room.

"Press the button by the door if you need help or when you're done," she says, and then Nate is alone with Sid in a room full of intoxicating omega pheromones.

"Hi," Sid says. He's sitting by the pillows on the large bed, wearing a robe that covers all of the essentials; his hands are clasped together, and as Nate watches he releases them and rubs his palms on his thighs.

"Hi," Nate replies, a little dizzy from the pheromones. "You, uh."

The corner of Sid's mouth twists up into a smile. "I'm going into heat, yeah. You knew that when you put your name down, didn't you?"

Nate scratches the back of his neck. "Yeah, I did," he says. "I didn't think you were gonna pick me."

Sid's smile drops and Nate's stomach drops along with it. "Oh, do you not want--?"

"No! I mean yes," Nate says, scrambling for his words. He takes a step forward, a hand extended, then drops his hand. "I want. Uh. Fuck, Sid, of course I want you."

Sid lets out a visible breath. "Okay, good, because I already sent the guys back to the hotel. I was surprised to see your name on the list, to be honest."

"Are you kidding me?" Nate steps forward again, then sits carefully on the edge of the bed. "Sid, I used to jerk off to a poster of you when I was  _ fourteen _ . My teammates gave me the signup sheet first because everyone knows I have a-- a thing. For you." His face heats up again, because in this situation it's one thing to confess he wants to fuck Sid -- of course he does or he wouldn't be here -- but it's another to admit that he's had a lot more feelings than just those over the years.

"Oh," Sid says, his eyes wide. "Well, way to make a guy feel old, geez. Hope I can live up to the hype."

"You smell like a fucking buffet," Nate blurts out, because it's true, Sid smells so good he can't wait to get a taste of him, and the pheromones must be increasing because he's starting to lose track of why he was nervous about this in the first place.

"The heat should hit pretty soon. Not more than half an hour until the suppressants wear off the rest of the way," Sid says. His tongue darts out to wet his plush lips, and Nate's eyes track the movement.

"I have to wait half an hour?"

Sid laughs. "C'mere," he says, and then Nate is crawling across the bed and he's  _ kissing Sidney Crosby _ . It's slow and wet and thorough, and Nate might have an extra inch on Sid, exaggerated by the fact that he's basically climbing into Sid's lap, but there's no denying that Sid is the one who's running this show. "You really jerked off to a poster of me?" he asks, face a little red even as the corner of his lips twitches.

Nate punches him in the shoulder. "Shut up," he complains. "I had finally gotten over being disappointed about being an alpha, cut me some slack."

Sid frowns. "Why the hell would you be disappointed that you're an alpha?"

"Do you really need to ask that?" Nate looks down at Sid and thinks about how much he'd rather be kissing him than talking about this. "I wanted to be just like you. But I couldn't, so…" He shrugs. "Can we stop talking now?"

Sid laughs. "Yeah, Nate, we can stop talking," he says, and pulls Nate down to kiss him again. Nate can't help moving back just a little so he can kiss down Sid's jaw and bury his face in his neck, breathing in his intoxicating scent. He knows the rules as well as the next guy -- no biting, no bonding, be careful with the scent glands -- but there's no rule against scenting. Sid seems to like it, anyway, his head dropping to the side to give Nate more room. "I'm glad you're an alpha," he says, tugging at the buttons of Nate's shirt.

"Oh yeah?" Recovering some more of his confidence, Nate pulls back and grins down at Sid, who's still focused on getting Nate's shirt open. "Why's that?"

Sid glares at him, but it's ruined by the fact that his scent spikes and his pupils dilate. "Because it means I get to have you fuck me," he says, then grabs Nate by the loose sides of his shirt and pulls him into a hot kiss. The heat must be kicking in, because Nate can smell the sweet scent of slick and it makes his cock throb in his suit pants.

Well, if Sid wants an alpha, Nate can give that to him. He gets up from the bed to throw off his clothes, then wrestles Sid down onto his back, letting him take his weight. Sid is still wearing that robe, but it's fallen wide open and his cock is pressing up against Nate's belly insistently. "Wanna eat you out," Nate murmurs, kissing his way down Sid's chest. "That okay?"

Sid's answer is to spread his legs wide and shove Nate's head further down, so he takes that as a yes. "You've done this before, right?" Sid asks as Nate rubs his hands over his massive thighs. God, Sid's thighs are just as amazing as he always imagined they'd be, and Nate's momentarily distracted by the thought of finally getting his hands on Sid's ass before he realizes Sid asked him a question.

"What the fuck kind of question is that? I'm not a rookie anymore, _ Sidney _ , and even when I was I wasn't a virgin." To prove his point, Nate takes Sid's cock into his mouth and sucks him deep, swirling his tongue around the head as he pulls back. Sid makes the most amazing sound, his fingers tightening in Nate's hair, and Nate hums and takes him down again. Sid's cock is just as perfect as the rest of his body -- nice and thick, a good solid mouthful, just like Nate's been fantasizing about since he was a teenager.

"Fuck, okay," Sid gasps, kicking at Nate's side. "Jesus, who did you learn that from?"

Nate pulls off and raises his eyebrows at Sid. "Do you really want to know?"

Sid laughs breathlessly. "Maybe you can tell me about it later, after you-- yeah, that," he gasps, as Nate shoves his legs further apart and dives between them, dragging his tongue over Sid's slick opening. He teases around the entrance with his tongue and lips, then delves inside, reaching his tongue as deep as he can.

In all his fantasies, the thing Nate never imagined is the way Sid can't stop  _ moving _ . He squirms under Nate's mouth, thighs squeezing his ears, and his fingers don't stop grabbing at Nate's hair, sometimes pulling him just where he wants him and sometimes tugging just to have something to do with his hands. He also never quite imagined how good Sid tastes. Every omega he's been with has been a little different, and while they've all been good -- and lord knows he spent a lot of time learning to excel at this with his face buried between Jo's legs -- Sid just has that something extra that makes Nate want to spend the rest of his life right here, happily suffocating between Sid's thighs.

Sid comes for the first time like that, with just Nate's tongue on him, and Nate ends up having to hold Sid's thighs so tight he's probably bruising them to keep from getting his head crushed. When he goes limp, hands sliding out of Nate's hair, Nate pulls back sits up on his knees, wiping his face on one hand. He can't help reaching down to stroke himself a couple of times at the sight before him, because Sid is a  _ mess _ . He's red-faced and sweaty, breathing hard, one arm flung over his eyes and slick and come all over him, and it's possibly the hottest thing Nate has ever seen in his life. Nate must make some kind of sound because Sid moves his arm and blinks up at him for a long moment. Then his eyes drop down to where Nate's touching himself and he says, "Okay, you need to get that in me  _ right now _ ."

Sid grabs the condoms from the table next to the bed and tosses them at him, then shrugs out of the robe while Nate fumbles to get the package open. By the time he's got one rolled on, Sid has turned over and is braced on his forearms and knees, legs spread and ass up, and Nate has to recite the stats from his worst season so he doesn't come before he even gets his dick in. "Come on," Sid urges, craning his neck. "Come on, fuck me already."

Nate gets both hands on Sid's ass, squeezes tight, then lines himself up and pushes in. "Oh, fuck," he groans, sliding deep with no resistance at all. "Fuck,  _ fuck _ , Sid, you're so--"

Sid moans and pushes back against him, muttering, "C'mon, c'mon, do it hard," and a string of profanity that Nate usually only hears from Sid if a ref makes a bad call (or if Nate beats him at something in training). Nate always rises to a challenge, and he's not going to let this be an exception. He pulls back and slams in hard, his cock throbbing at the eager sounds Sid makes and the thick heat pheromones rising in the room. His knot is already starting to swell, but fuck if he's going to let Sid down by not giving him what he needs.

Draping himself over Sid's back, Nate fucks him hard enough to shove him up the bed. Sid's knees slip and he grabs for the headboard to steady himself, while Nate grips his hip tight and noses along the back of Sid's neck. "Jesus, Sid, you take it so good," he pants. "Gonna knot you, you ready?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sid gasps, shifting around like he's trying to get a hand on himself. Nate's got him, though, and he reaches around to jerk Sid off even as his thrusts start to turn into a grind, his knot swelling up and tying them together. "Fuck, Nate, just a little more, come on--" Sid pushes back against him hard, and that's enough to tip Nate over the edge, slamming in one more time as he comes, his forehead pressed to Sid's back. Sid moans and keeps working himself on Nate's knot, and after a second Nate remembers to keep moving his hand, and then Sid is coming again too, squeezing down on Nate's knot and forcing him into another wave of aftershocks.

Nate doesn't collapse on top of Sid, but it's a near thing. He gets them both on their sides instead, barely out of the wet spot, his arm curved around Sid's waist. "Did I do okay? Best lay of your life, right?" Nate says when he's caught his breath, unable to stop himself from teasing.

Sid laughs weakly. "Not bad…gotta work on your back checking."

"Fuck you, you know I've got a great shot. Really, uh, rocket it into the crease." Nate smiles against Sid's shoulder, rubbing his hands over Sid's chest as Sid starts to laugh.

"As long as it's not just a one-timer," Sid snickers. It turns into full-on giggling, though, and Nate can feel the vibration of Sid's laughter through his body from where they're still joined together.

"Oh is that how it's gonna be? You think I don't have the stamina to keep up with you, Sidney?" Nate grinds his hips against Sid's to punctuate his point, forcing Sid's giggles to break off into a breathy exhalation.

"You're terrible," Sid accuses him, and Nate can't disagree.

*

Sid's heat lasts through the night. The heaviest part of it hits around two in the morning, leaving Sid shaking and panting as Nate murmurs encouragement to him, holding Sid down and doing all the work when he's too far gone to do it himself. It's amazing, and exhausting, and Nate wouldn't change it for anything.

It's close to six in the morning that Sid's scent starts to die down. He's more or less coming dry at this point, which means there's less to clean up when Nate lets Sid's softening cock slip out of his mouth. "Done?" he asks, his throat still a little raw.

"Getting there," Sid pants, his chest still heaving. "Jesus, Nate, your mouth deserves a trophy."

"I'll tell my agent," Nate laughs. He climbs up the bed and collapses next to Sid, curling around him and nuzzling at his neck.

"Who do I have to thank for teaching you that? You said you'd tell me." Sid leans back into him and sighs happily. "Wait, let me guess. Drouin, right?"

"He's gonna give me so much shit when he finds out about this," Nate says, though he has to admit he's kind of looking forward to it. "He used to joke about it, you know? God, this is kind of embarrassing. When he wanted me to go down on him he'd say, 'Better get some practice, Nathan, or Crosby will be disappointed.'"

Sid huffs out a laugh and he turns onto his back so he can look up at Nate. "You really wanted me for that long? How come you never said anything?"

"What, like you would have said yes to an 18-year-old pimple-faced kid?"

Sid wrinkles his nose. "Okay, maybe not when you were  _ that  _ young. I'm not a cradle robber. But once we got to know each other…"

"Don't fuck with me," Nate says, looking at Sid seriously. "Are we just talking about sex here, or something else?"

Sid's already a mess from his heat, but his flush seems to get even brighter. "Do you want something else?"

Nate could brush it off. Or, he could take a chance, and maybe have one more of his childhood dreams come true. "Maybe I could take you out to lunch before your flight, if you wanted."

"Yeah? Gonna wine and dine me?" Sid's smiling, and it makes something warm and fond rise up in Nate's chest.

"Only if it's on the meal plan," he says.

Sid knows him well enough to know that it's not actually a joke, and that makes it even better when Sid says, "Guess it's a date," and leans in to kiss him. "But first," he adds when he pulls back, pushing Nate down onto his back and straddling him, "one more time, yeah?"

Nate grins and takes hold of Sid's hips. One more time is definitely something he can do.

*

"Who are you texting?" Tyson asks, leaning in to try to look over Nate's shoulder as they're changing for practice a couple weeks later. "New girlfriend? I see that look on your face."

"It's just Sid," Nate says, elbowing Tyson out of the way. He can't quite get rid of the dopey grin on his face, though, which clearly Tyson takes as some kind of permission to wrestle him to try to get his phone. "Hey, you know you're not going to win wrestling me!" Nate warns, but in the middle of the tussle, when Nate's trying to get Tyson into a headlock, someone yanks the phone out of his hand. Nate yelps and flails to try to get it, but EJ is holding it up out of his reach.

"Just Sid, huh?" EJ says, swiping open the phone. Landy, of course, is in the mix now too, and EJ holds the phone out so they can both see. Nate groans and drops his head into his hands because he's never going to hear the end of this. EJ starts laughing so hard he has to hand the phone over to Landy.

"Well, it  _ is _ Crosby," Landy says, as he starts scrolling back in Nate's texts.

"This is an invasion of privacy, you know that, right?"

"Aw, a heart! I didn't know Crosby knew how to use emojis," Landy teases. Then, as he scrolls back, "Oh, wow, I definitely didn't know he knew how to use  _ those _ emojis."

"Oh my god, just give it back!" Nate lunges for Landy but he spins out of the way, and then Tyson's got his hands on it and is grinning maniacally.

"Oh sorry, I guess when I said  _ new girlfriend _ I should have said  _ new boyfriend _ ," Tyson teases. He hands the phone back,  _ finally _ , then says, "Congrats, bro. But you're not worth that many eggplant emojis."

Nate just flips them all off as they dissolve into laughter. He swipes open his phone again, the last message from Sid still sitting there.

_ [Sid] stay at my place when you come to Pittsburgh next week? don't think we won't kick your asses though  _ ❤️

Despite his friends' teasing, Nate can't help smiling at his phone again. He types his reply and hits send, then stows his phone and gets ready to skate. Yeah, maybe he's not just like Sidney Crosby -- but he's pretty sure this is better.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to misswonderheart, freosan, and dustofwarfare for beta and cheerleading! Find me on [tumblr](http://marmolita.tumblr.com) if you'd like!
> 
> Regarding Sid cheating at a race, see Nate's interview [here](https://youtu.be/-JgZ4Z0lbr8?t=724) (link goes to that portion of the interview, but the whole thing is gold).


End file.
